Foundation for American Innovation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472239840
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
8432127960
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Health Program (Includes General Health and Wellness Promotion Services)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,149,927
Expenses
$3,719,664
Assets
$3,709,441
Liabilities
$282,190

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LOREN ZACHARY GRAVES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MAX BODACH (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LOREN ZACHARY GRAVES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $282,414 total reported compensation
  • SAMUEL HAMMOND (SENIOR ECONOMIST): $278,588 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL PETER LIPS (HEAD OF POLICY): $203,294 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To develop technology, talent, and ideas that support a better, freer, and more abundant future. Ours is a politics of builders, hackers, and founders working to advance a more perfect union between technology and the american republic.

What it reported doing in 2024

Events - each year we host dozens of events across the country, engaging our communities in California, Texas, New York, Florida, d.c., and elsewhere. Through our salons, forums, and conferences, we bring together technologists, founders, authors, and policymakers to explore a range of timely topics.network - the network team is focused on fellowships, events, and media, building a translation layer between the two cultures of tech and policy, and shaping the national conversation around innovation. Network has three sub programs: events, media, and fellowships.media - to increase the reach and impact of our work, we sponsor two podcasts. The realignment boasts 500,000 monthly downloads and focuses on the shifting landscape of national security, economics, technology, and the role of government in our lives. Our new podcast, the dynamist, highlights our reseach and work, and explores the emerging movement for dynamism with prominent guests.fellowships - our fellowship programs cultivate early-and mid-career talent with two goals in mind: first, to educate the next generation of founders and builders about how to navigate policy and regulatory threats, and second, to create a stronger technical talent pipeline of market-oriented policy entrepreneurs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.8%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 77.3%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.8%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 40.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.8% of revenue deployed · 77.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $282K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $111K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.